Robinhood is pushing further into the private market arena with the announcement of a new venture capital fund designed to provide everyday investors with access to stakes in companies before they go public. This endeavor involves filing an initial registration statement with the SEC to establish the Robinhood Ventures Fund I (RVI), aiming to acquire stakes in leading private companies across various sectors.

In detail, this closed-end investment vehicle will also trade on the New York Stock Exchange, pending regulatory approval, marking a significant step for the company in giving retail investors exposure to private equity investments.

Earlier this year, Robinhood faced backlash when it introduced private equity tokens to users in the EU. These tokens were linked to companies like OpenAI and SpaceX, which stirred conversations about ownership representation in tokenized shares.

“Wealthy and institutional investors have traditionally dominated investments in private companies, leaving retail investors out of the loop,” Robinhood’s Chairman and CEO Vlad Tenev remarked. He reiterated that nearly half of all U.S. public companies have vanished since 2000, with the private market swelling to an estimated value of over $10 trillion.

If granted approval, the Robinhood Ventures Fund I will invest in a selected group of private companies and retain those investments through their IPOs and beyond, with shares being available through conventional brokerage accounts.

In recent trading, Robinhood shares were reported down by 1.4%, trading at $113.39.